Gastrointestinal Parasites of Ancient Domestic Goats from the Archaeological Site Cueva Huenul 1, Patagonia, Argentina

BELTRAME, MARÍA ORNELA; TIETZE, ELEONOR; CAÑAL, VICTORIA; BARBERENA, RAMIRO

Environmental Archaeology

Taylor and Francis Gropus

Año: 2024 p. 1 - 14

1461-4103

The goat is one of the first herbivores to be domesticated, expanding throughout the world.Goats were introduced in South America during the sixteenth century. Gastrointestinal (GI)parasitism constitutes one of the main constraints to the breeding of goats worldwide. Thisis the first study conducted to investigate the GI parasites recovered from goat coprolitesfrom historical times of Patagonia. Goat coprolites were studied from the archaeologicalsite Cueva Huenul I. Coprolites were processed by rehydration followed by homogenisationand sieved for spontaneous sedimentation. Samples were examined by light microscopy. Atleast 12 parasite species were recorded. In this first paleoparasitological study of Patagonianancient goats we found a high percentage of positive samples. We recorded parasitespecies that currently are common in wild and domestic ruminants, some of them are ofpublic health and veterinary importance; several species are zoonotic. Our results suggestthat this could also have been a problem in terms of animal and human health in historicaltimes. The results urge further investigation of the diversity and origin of the infectiousdiseases of domesticated animals around the dispersal routes associated with ancienthuman activities and their interaction with native species.